MQ-25A Stingray cleared for deployment, says Cao

During the Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing today, Acting Secretary of the Navy, Hung Cao, announced that the MQ-25A Stingray is now moving into the low-rate initial production and deployment phase.

Boeing’s MQ-25A is the first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft and as the Stingray enters the force, it is intended to relieve the Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornets of their aerial refueling role.

“Integrating unmanned refueling extends the lethality of our Carrier Strike Groups and equips our force with a decisive advantage to fight and win against any adversary,” Cao wrote in a post on X.

The Stingray has reached milestone C, which in the defense acquisition process, authorizes a program to transition from the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase into production and deployment — a process that in this instance has been nearly eight years in the making.

Inked in 2018, the $805 million Boeing-Navy contract covered the design, development, fabrication, test and delivery of four Stingray aircraft, a program that the service expects will cost about $13 billion for 72 aircraft, according to previous Military Times coverage.

Despite its first test flight running a year later than previously planned, on April 25 the Stingray inched closer to operability when it successfully completed its first flight from Mascoutah, Illinois.

The MQ-25A was airborne for roughly two hours, according to a Navy release, with Navy and Boeing Air Vehicle Pilots controlling the Stingray from the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System MD-5 Ground Control Station.

“Boeing is honored to work alongside our U.S. Navy partner in achieving this historic milestone in the MQ-25A Stingray’s development life cycle,” said Troy Rutherford, vice president, Boeing MQ-25 program. “We remain focused on getting this game-changing unmanned aircraft into the hands of the fleet and integrated into the carrier air wing.”

A low-rate initial production, or LRIP, Lot 1 contract for three aircraft is expected to be awarded this summer and include priced options for Lot 2 (three aircraft) and Lot 3 (five aircraft), according to the Navy release.

The role of the MQ-25A is intended to provide the Carrier Air Wing with unmanned refueling, freeing up F/A-18E/F aircraft to focus on strike missions.

“This will expand the operational reach of the air wing while preserving the service life of F/A-18E/Fs, improving readiness across the Super Hornet fleet,” the release said.